Zuko Komisa

According to Social Development Deputy Minister Ganief Henricks, the scourge of substance and drug abuse is a global issue, not only in South Africa.
The Deputy Minister addressed the portfolio committee on Wednesday, emphasizing the effects of drug usage on South African society.
The Deputy Minister led a delegation from the Department of Social Development and the Central Drug Authority that presented the 2023/2024 Central Drug Authority Annual Report to the committee.
Before delivering the findings, Deputy Minister Hendricks stated that, according to the South African Society of Psychiatrists, one in every five adults abuses mind-altering substances.
One out of five adults abuse substances
Between the week of December 25, 2024, and January 1, 2025, South Africans spent R7.7 billion on alcohol.
“According to the South African Society of Psychiatrists, almost 20% of South Africans – one out of every five adults – abuse mind-altering substances, with alcohol, painkillers (codeine) and dagga the worst offenders,”
“The annual cost to the country of alcohol abuse alone, in terms of absenteeism, lost productivity, health and welfare costs, and alcohol-related crime is estimated at up to 10% of the gross domestic product, or as much as R37.9 billion annually, according to a 2014 study in the South African Medical Journal.
“You can imagine how much it costs the country, especially its causal relations to gender-based violence and femicide, and all the social ills,” the Deputy Minister said.
In 2023, the local beer industry poured a massive R96.46bn into South Africa’s GDP, contributed R56.5bn in tax revenue, and supported 209,000 jobs, according to the latest Oxford Economics study, “Beer’s Global Economic Footprint”.
Kaya Biz with Gugulethu Mfuphi spoke to Charlene Louw, CEO of the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA)
Listen to the full conversation here:
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